Ben Harvey and Liam Stapleton of Triple J’s Breakfast have opened up on-air about their mental health for R U OK? Day, in a segment listeners have praised as an honest, raw, and emotional account of the past few months.
Discussing the continual sledges they’ve received since taking over from Alex Dyson and Matt Okine, Stapleton told listeners “there is sometimes a fresh can of hate that you’ve got to open up every day, and it definitely wears you down.”
He discussed the “magic filter” some people believe exists between rough comments made about media personalities and the actual humans they’re directed at, reminding the audience that “we see all the posts, we see all the comments.
“And I can honestly say I’ve had nights where I’ve cried myself to sleep because of stuff like that.”
Stapleton elaborated on some of the more horrific messages he’s received to his personal social media accounts, including those from “people quite explicitly telling me to take my own life.”
He also dropped a seriously gut-punching recollection of a time he was “cornered” late at night by several Triple J listeners, who berated him for being “hopeless” and supposedly not living up to the standards set by his predecessors.
“I can honestly say, I’ve never felt lower than that point. I just felt absolutely pathetic, properly pathetic,” Stapleton said.
Bringing the discussion back to R U OK? Day, Stapleton admitted it can be hard to understand what someone is going through “until they really open up and talk about it.”
Co-host Harvey responded to Stapleton’s admissions, saying that despite the voices criticising the duo on social media, there are still stacks of “loving” replies.
Following that bloody brave segment, listeners have absolutely flooded Triple J’s social media accounts with messages of support and appreciation, both for their regular on-air content and the decision to broadcast such vocal support for the R U OK? initiative.
To find out more about asking a mate if they’re doing alright, check out the R U OK? Day site for some tips.
